We are building Seatbelt in public

For those who want to know what it's like to start a company, or if you want to follow along on our journey, we’ve decided to share our progress with the LinkedIn community every month.?

This is what the month of May (our first-ever month in operation) was like for us:

== First off, some highlights: ==

?? We onboarded our first customer - SO STOKED!

?? Our sales pipeline looks promising, showcasing about ￡350k in opportunities.

?? We've engaged in 55 meaningful conversations.

?? We launched our website https://seatbelt.studio (LinkedIn doesn't seem to recognise .studio as a domain extension ??)

== Here's what we got wrong: ==

?? We set (and instantly forgot) our OKRs.

Useless. Any execution framework is only as good as how well you iterate on it. We didn’t iterate at all. We just let the whirlwind take over and worked very hard.

?? We launched our website 19 days late.?

We fell face-first into the anxiety trap, looking for perfection. Eventually, 19 days later, we decided to ship what we had. This was scary, we're still not fully happy, but shipping beats contemplation every time!

?? We’ve spent too much time “navel gazing”.

We discussed what-if scenarios which led to building if-this-happens-then-we’ll-have-that solutions.

All this activity feels like work, but it isn't. It doesn’t drive the results that matter. It’s procrastination with a pretty coat of paint.

== So what’s our focus for the month of June? ==

?? All in all we’re happy with the month of May. We made progress, had fun, onboarded our first customer and managed to keep our sanity.?

?? We know that you can only do so much in one day. Running yourself ragged for the sake of doing work is a recipe for burnout, especially when starting a new company.

So, we’ve decided to double down on making better decisions.?

?? June is all about prioritising things that matter and killing things that don’t.?

?? We've decided to switch to 4DX as our execution framework.

Here's what we'll track:

• The number of outbound attempts made (10+ video outbounds, per day, per rep)
• The quality of pre- and post-call prep (Agenda and questioning 100% focused on understanding)
• The consistency of following up (Say what we do, do what we say)
• ?? The lag indicator we’re going for is four new customers by the end of June.?

?? June is jam-packed with holidays, so our new customer number is a stretch target.?Our lead indicators are not. At the end of this month we'll share exactly how we've fared.

== Shoutouts: ==

We've had many great conversations, ranging from startup advice, industry insights and straight-up feedback from some of the coolest people on the planet. ??

The list is too long to mention everyone, but here's a special thanks to:

Marcus Hemsley , Chris Rogers , Marcus Cauchi , Peter Czapp , Rob Sayles , Joel Baynes , Ian Hambleton , Alex Holliman , Sam Zindel , ?? Catarina Hoch ?? , Alastair Reid , Joe Brownrigg , Dan Smith , Adam Boita , Antoine M. , Russ Avery , Konrad Sanders , Jenny Plant , Roger Stigh?ll . You're all bloody awesome!

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